Sarah Palin On Tour To Promote Book Seeking To Protect Christmas From 'Angry Atheists With Lawyers'

BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Former Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin kicked off a promotional tour for
her book "Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of
Christmas" on Tuesday in the aptly named town of Bethlehem, where
fans braved frosty weather for a glimpse and an autograph.

Palin argues in her new book that Christmas, and more broadly
religious freedom, is under attack from political correctness,
the "sneering media" and as one chapter is entitled, "Angry
Atheists with Lawyers."

In eastern Pennsylvania, however, supporters were more
interested in meeting Palin, the 2008 Republican vice
presidential nominee, than debating religion and secularism.

Hundreds of people lined up to wait in the wintry chill outside
the Barnes & Noble, where Palin was autographing copies of
her book inside.

"Sarah is the attraction because she's a real person,"
said Jaye Meeker, 25, a farrier from Phillipsburg, New
Jersey. "She's a woman first and a politician second. She cares
about the little people."

Palin has recently been rallying members of the
conservative Tea Party wing of the Republican
Party in their failed effort to defund President Barack
Obama's Affordable Care Act, and was critical of party members
who agreed to end the government shutdown.

"Sarah should have been the president because she is the only one
who was qualified," said retiree Donna Souders, 68, of
Plainfield Township, Pennsylvania. "She is a down-to-earth
woman."

Taryn Gilbert, 23, a singer and dancer from nearby
Easton, Pennsylvania, said she came to the book-signing
because she and Palin share the same values.

"I agree with 100 percent of the things she says," said Gilbert.
"I love her."

In the new book, Palin laments such developments as saying "Happy
Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" and expunging Christmas
carols from seasonal pageants.

Bethlehem, which calls itself "Christmas City USA," traditionally
goes all out with lavish lighting displays, an open-air holiday
market, tourist festivities and a live Advent calendar marking
each day leading up to Christmas.

Palin's tour includes stops in the South and Midwest. Her
book is published by HarperCollins.

(Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst. Editing by Andre Grenon)

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